Traditional astrologers "make predictions." Often they are correct.

But right or wrong, "predictions" turn you into a marionette, with

the planets holding your strings. And in my opinion, that is not a

very inspiring description of the way the cosmos works, nor a very

accurate one. You are vastly more powerful than that. You can, to a

great extent, shape your own life. That at least is my belief. The

future isn't crystallized. It's a wavering, quivering web of

possibilities. How will they manifest? Much depends upon how you

wield the magical wild card we call your freedom.

So, what's the use of astrology? In a nutshell, it can help you make

better choices. The planets never give a definitive answer to the

question "What will happen to me?" Instead, they ask the question.

But they ask the question in a very specific way: "Given everything

you are, all the bridges you've crossed, all the contracts you've

signed, there are several possibilities for what you might do

next..." In other words, "Here's the menu. What are you having?"

Question mark.

And the question mark is the most important part of the whole

inquiry, because that's where the uncertainty -- and your freedom --

lies. But the planets do even more. They offer advice. In a sense,

they recommend certain choices over others. They seem biased toward

your evolution. They often suggest that you take the less familiar

path, the one that moves you into richer fields of your own

potentiality. The planets express this rather philosophical bias in

a very concrete way. Typically, when you make a less energetic

response to a planetary question, the results, while initially

comfortable, rapidly turn painful. Sometimes the pain is immediate

and dramatic, as in the collapse of an important relationship. Other

times, it's more subtle, as in the degeneration of life into

deadening boredom and ritual. Either way, sooner or later we know

you made a wrong turn somewhere.

In this series that follows, we will be exploring the coming months of

your life from this planetary perspective. There are three parts to

the report, and any or all of them may be included here, depending

on which have been requested. First, the big questions. In the part

of the report called THE INVITATION, we try to get that

"mountain-top" perspective that enables us to make sense of the

details. In THE MEANS, we turn our attention to some secondary

factors that offer suggestions, help, and support in responding to

those big questions. And finally, we'll look at the report period

month-by-month, day-by-day, to get some ground-level insight into

THE DETAILS. Your report may be for three, six, nine, or twelve

months and may include any or all three sections just described. For

this reason, and because some years in your life are astrologically

more active than others, report length can vary quite a bit.

Throughout the following text, I'll be endeavoring to write in plain

English, but if you're unfamiliar with the jargon of astrology,

you'll encounter a few words that may require definition. A

"transiting" planet, for example, refers to the actual, current

position of that planet in the sky. Sometimes the transiting planets

form critical geometric angles with the "natal" planets in the

birthchart, triggering developmental questions in your life. These

critical angles are called "aspects."

The "progressed" planets function in much the same way as the

transiting planets, but we approach them a little differently.

They're like a script that's been built into your birthchart. Just

as we know that an oak tree will emerge from an acorn and bring

forth its leaves in season, similarly each person's birthchart

contains within it the seeds of certain predictable developmental

stages. Progressions spell out those stages.

So sit back, open your mind, and engage your heart. It's time to

consider...